


Time Will Find A Way To Heal

by ninwrites



Series: Shadowhunters Coda Scenes [8]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Communication, Family Feels, Fluff, Future Fic, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Maryse Lightwood redemption arc, Minor, Near Future, Post-Episode: s02e20 Beside Still Water, Russian Translation Available, Self-Indulgent, Short & Sweet, kind of, talking things out, up until season 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-15
Updated: 2017-09-15
Packaged: 2018-12-30 04:52:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12101121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninwrites/pseuds/ninwrites
Summary: Maryse welcomes Magnus into the family.





	Time Will Find A Way To Heal

**Author's Note:**

> title from Evaporate by Gabrielle Aplin 
> 
> (this was literally written in like three hours because I have no self control)
> 
> based on this [thread](https://twitter.com/ItsYaraSket/status/908639423671209984)
> 
> i blame (thank) [Joana](https://twitter.com/boothalecs) and [Yara](https://twitter.com/ItsYaraSket) (and [Rebecca](https://twitter.com/sourwolfmalec)) for ... encouraging me to write this ❤ you guys
> 
> I hope you enjoy!
> 
> \-- 
> 
> russian translation by [alina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alleninhere/pseuds/alleninhere) now available [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13419327) and [here](https://ficbook.net/readfic/6411939) ❤❤❤

 

Magnus has never had the best relationship with Maryse Lightwood.

They've come quite far in recent months, Maryse especially has grown more than Magnus could have ever anticipated - gone is the cold, stone-faced Clave carbon copy, replaced instead with a woman who would truly do anything for her children, who'd face the end of the world if it gave them the life they deserve.

He watches, in pensive silence, as Maryse combs her hand through Isabelle's hair, disentangling invisible knots with careful fingers. Isabelle smiles, with the force of a midday sun, and whispers something that only Maryse can hear.

Maryse laughs, a sound so surprising and unexpectedly light that Magnus finds himself taking a literal step back. Beside him, Alec smiles, although his is soft and secretive, as though he is thinking upon a fond memory, lost in faraway daydreams.

Maryse leans forward, pressing a gentle kiss to Isabelle's forehead, muttering something in her ear. They exchange looks of warm affection, far removed from any hostility that had once haunted them like unwanted shadows. Isabelle hugs her arms across her chest, but there is not a tear in her eye, nothing but a startled joy. She doesn't look away from her mother, even as Maryse turns, her attention directed towards Alec.

It is natural, that her attention would be drawn to her oldest son, that her affections would center on the first-born of her children. Magnus inches back, slowly, almost unnoticeable. He's there to provide a service, to conjure the portal that will take Maryse back to Idris, to the Clave and their restrictions and their endless meetings and unanswerable questions.

Maryse is going so that Alec doesn't have to, but also, so that she doesn't have to see the man who used to be her husband. No divorce has been cleared, because it is not a thing that Shadowhunters do, the wedded union rune a branding as much as it is a symbol of partnership, but they are otherwise separated for all intents and given purposes. Magnus admires her in that sense, for standing up for herself and not bowing down to the iron-clad traditions that threaten to bind the Shadowhunter race.

He cannot deny that she has come a long way, and it gives him hope, however foolish, that there might be chance for others to do the same. He's not putting much stock in it yet, the last year alone has taught him that much, if not the past few decades, but it is still something that soars inside his hollow chest, when Maryse pulls her son forward, arms wrapped tight around him.

The same son who, only months before, she claimed she did not know anymore, the same son who she discarded like trash after he dared take a step for himself, for something that he wanted.

There's an ache that wraps around his ribs, ribbon around bone, as Alec clutches her back just as tight, his head bowed to rest against hers. To see them so close, in more than just physical terms, to see old wounds healing over is an honour, and a privilege - but it does not take away from the melancholy that courses through Magnus' veins like poison.

It is difficult, to see them and not wish for circumstances to be different, but Magnus had learnt long ago to find peace in disappointment, to be picky and careful and deliberate in where he places trust and when to stop idealistic pipedreams from tainting his worldview.

The world is not made out of sunshine and happiness, it is dark and gritty and full of pain and betrayal, and whilst accepting that is the hardest part, it is what must be done to survive. The joy that comes in fleeting moments is a gift, to be cherished and held with careful hands, but not to be squandered or taken for granted.

All too often the light is extinguished and darkness suffocates.

Maryse brushes her hand over Alec's hair, landing on his shoulder with an encouraging squeeze. Alec smiles, softly, then pecks her cheek with a kiss that is tender and protective - Magnus can practically hear the urgency spilling from Alec's lips, desires for his mother to stay safe, keep in contact, to call for any little thing; he'd travel to Idris in a heartbeat if his mother asked it.

Magnus wonders, distantly, if she would.

Maryse pulls back, and her glance strays, but not in the direction that Magnus expects. Instead of landing on Isabelle, or even Jace a few feet away - her gaze falls to Magnus, and there is no hostility there, no hate or disgust.

For the first time since she had held a seraph blade to his throat and called him a  _worthless monster_ \- Maryse looks at him like he's human.

More than that, though, with kindness, a grace of character that nips at his skin like hot sparks of electricity.

Magnus's brain is ticking by slowly, lethargic and backwards, and he doesn't even notice what is happening until Maryse is standing before him, her eyes dark and so like Alec's that it throws him a little. He's never seen them this close, this way, with what appears to - but can't possibly be - an almost fond affection.

Magnus lets out a fractured breath, words only reaching as far as his throat before getting stuck to the roof of his mouth. Maryse frowns, dark eyes scrutinising, and while Magnus highly doubts she would do anything, when her hand lifts a part of him hardens, hackles raised, defensive magic simmering beneath his skin, waiting for any slip of an excuse to burst free.

It all settles when her fingers gently brush his cheeks, wiping away tears he hadn't realised were falling. It doesn't slow them, if anything the silver tracks race down his face faster, urged on by her caring touch - and yet, Magnus doesn't find that he minds.

He should, being who he is, where he is, in front of who he is - but he doesn't.

A part of him, deep and buried beneath centuries of injustice and hate, trusts Maryse. Not for how she is treating him now, still a cold shock to his nervous system, but for how she has treated Alec, and Isabelle, for how determined she is to make amends, to adjust her thinking and cut the ties to her previous ways.

Maryse is making a bold step forward, away from the Clave and all she ever knew, and it is not an easy feat. For that, for how she accepts her son for who he is, for how strong her support grows - Magnus harbours a blossoming respect.

"I wanted," Maryse pauses, lips pressed firmly together. Magnus waits, surprised he can hear her over the erratic thudding of his constricted heart. "I wanted to thank you."

Magnus can feel a frown forming, but he doesn't interrupt.

"You stood by Alec, through everything, even when some of us were less than kind to you." The corner of Maryse's mouth turns down, curt and sour. "You never abandoned him because things got too hard, which I admit I had worried you would - for which I couldn't utter enough apologies, but extend a desire to try."

"I would never abandon him." Magnus whispers, because it's important, something he has to say, to dispel any further doubts that might be lingering in her mind.

Maryse's smile returns then, tender and sweet. Her hand cups the side of Magnus' face, thumb smoothing over his jaw. It does not, in that moment, feel as though he has a few hundred years on her.

"I understand that, now." Maryse's gaze is soft and apologetic. "I should never have assumed the worst before I knew you - I have learnt, since, that opinions cannot be based on thin rumours. You are nowhere near the man I thought you were - you are a good person with a good soul and I should have seen it before."

Maryse glances back, quickly, at Alec, who has yet to move, watching them both with a look caught between surprised and wistful.

"You truly love him, don't you?" Maryse asks, though it doesn't sound like much of a question.

Magnus nods. He feels like he's treading on a tripwire, but he could never deny the force of his feelings for Alec, not even with his dying breath. "More than I believe I have ever loved anyone. Alexander has saved me."

The corners of Maryse' eyes crinkle when she smiles, then. "I have a feeling it goes the same way. I have never seen Alec as happy as he is now, and there is not an ounce of doubt in my mind that it is because of you."

Between one blink and the next, Maryse has pulled him into a hug, her arms tight and comforting around him. He freezes, with more than just shock, before gingerly hugging back. To say he's cautious would be an understatement, but he can't help the yearning part of him that attaches to the warmth of the hug like it's a beacon calling him home.

"You're family now," Maryse whispers, breath ghosting against his ear. Her arms tighten, keeping him together, all whilst relief washes over him in crushing waves.

Family.  _Family._

Magnus's mind whirs, cogs grinding in the search for something to say in response, anything, a quip or a joke but nothing comes to him. He can't see past the fog of disbelief clouding him - he's still not sure this isn't all a wonderfully strange dream.

"Thank you for looking after him when I couldn't," Maryse whispers, her hand stroking up and down Magnus' back, firm and soothing. "For being there for him when he needed someone the most. He's lucky to have you in his life - we all are."

Magnus sniffs, scrunching his eyes to keep the intrusive tears from falling. "I'm lucky to have him," He says, mind still caught on a scratched record of  _you're family now_.

Maryse pulls back, hands receding to clutch at Magnus' arms. "Take care of him. He needs you - he thinks that he can do it all himself, something I'm afraid I instilled upon him, but he can't. He needs you to keep him level-headed, to remind him there is more to the world than what is contained inside of his office."

"I promise," Magnus swallows past the lump in his throat. "I would never let any harm come to him. I would do anything for him."

Maryse smiles, hands rubbing up and down Magnus' arms almost absently. "I know. I trust you to keep him safe. But as a mother, it is my duty to ensure that my children are okay, at all possible times."

Maryse offers another fleeting smile, and then glances back at Alec, hands falling away from Magnus' arms. "You too," She says, causing Alec's eyes to widen. "Look after Magnus. Be there for him the way I know he will be there for you."

Alec nods, eyes blown wide, a smile delicate and sweet forming as he speaks. "Of course. I promise."

Maryse, appearing satisfied with the answer, steps back. "I hope to be back within the month, but as I'm sure you both know, such things can't be promised in this unpredictable world we live in."

Magnus quickly wipes the stinging tears from his eyes, fixing his makeup with a few stray blue sparks, because he would like to hold onto some thread of his reputation and dignity, if at all possible.

"Ready?" He forces the word through his creaking throat.

The force of Maryse's smile shines through her eyes. "I suppose."

Magnus's hands create a tunnel, a portal blinking into existence in front of them. Maryse glances at Jace, then Isabelle and Alec in turn, before landing on Magnus.

"When I get back," She says, to Magnus, with a fleeting look at Alec. "We should have dinner together. A family dinner."

"I'd like that." Magnus says, surprised to find that he genuinely believes it.

Alec nods, echoed by Isabelle and Jace, who both seem a little confused but pleased nonetheless. Maryse steps through the portal, Magnus retaining enough strength of mind to wait until she's gone before closing it, his knees weak and staggering.

Alec's arm wraps around his waist, his kind and open face hovering before Magnus', highlighted with an overwhelming mix of love and concern. "Hey," He whispers, attention on Magnus and Magnus only. "Are you okay? You're looking a little ... pale."

Magnus shakes his head. It all feels like a wonderful but peculiar dream, like he's inhaled too much of the Caterpillar's hallucinogenic smoke and is suffering the topsy-turvy effects.

"I'm-" He can't say that he's fine, because he's not, he's crippled by shock and yet he's also never felt so together.

"Your mother just called me family." Magnus mutters, the words a surprise even as they float in the air between them.

Alec blinks, clearly as caught in the shock as Magnus - and then he smiles as though it all makes sense and Magnus feels more lost than ever. He's tripped and stumbled down the rabbit hole, now, everything hovering upside down and wrong -way-up around him.

"That's because you are." Alec replies, with devastating simplicity.

He leans forward, pressing a kiss to Magnus' cheek, all whilst one single word trips and bumps around Magnus' mind.

_Family._

**Author's Note:**

> I just want Magnus and Maryse to be friends is that really so much to ask for??
> 
>  
> 
> LINKS: 
> 
>  
> 
> twitter: [ninwrites](https://mobile.twitter.com/ninwrites) for fic stuff/updates/snippets + [biconicbarnes](https://mobile.twitter.com/biconicbarnes) for general fandom mess + small threads  
>   
> tumblr: [here](https://ninwrites.tumblr.com/)  
>   
> thank you for reading!
> 
> \- Nin ❤


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